UNHINGED: the new deliciously modern and disturbingly strange contemporary dance performance

Posted on 27 June, 2023

A psychological thriller. A strange ballet. A nod to the future.

From the creative minds of choreographers Suzy Piani and Bonnie Neate, UNHINGED is taking to the stage this July and once again they’re unravelling a classic ballet to turn it into something deliciously modern—and disturbing.

Pulling apart the comedic 1870 ballet Coppelia, UNHINGED is the latest full-length contemporary dance performance from The Training Ground featuring 20 talented dancers from across the Canberra region.

Reimagining the story of a dancing doll that comes to life under the hands of Dr. Coppélius and the village youth, Franz, that becomes infatuated with her—and the chaos that occurs along the way—the twisted version of this tale pulls apart the themes of the ballet and plays them out with disturbing synchronicity.

“Love is in there but it’s more about jealousy, love, obsession, and consequences,” says Suzy.

“It’s unusual, it’s a strange ballet. It’s not a tragedy—although it is a big tragic with what we’ve done with it—but it’s quite odd,” adds Bonnie. “The characters were rather interesting to deconstruct and put back together in our own moody way.”

Similar to their last two projects—UNVEILED in 2021 and UNRAVEL in 2022—Bonnie and Suzy play on the narrative of the traditional story and have taken a unique twist.

Drawing inspiration from modern-day conversations around artificial intelligence, what makes this show different from the previous two is UNHINGED doesn’t just tell a story through dance: the choreographers have created a whole new world.

“It has an artificial intelligence/futuristic vibe and that’s shown through all of the animations. We use a series of short films that have been incorporated into the dance work, but we’ve filmed the dance in a really different way,” says Bonnie. “We’ve had worlds created with characters and 3D animations.”

“Plus, we’ve gone a little bit further and we’re using some special effects as well,” adds Suzy.

Describing this year’s production as “rigorous”, according to Suzy, UNHINGED has upped the ante due to the dense and exciting nature of the show.

Combining two distinct styles of choreography—one for the dolls and one for the villagers—the vast majority of the show was pushed out during one intensive week in January, with the last six months being used to refine and train the cast. But it’s this mammoth effort to help young dancers have a taste of professional life that keeps Bonnie and Suzy inspired.

“That’s why we do what we do—it’s a training program. It’s to bridge that gap between studio-based training and pre-professional/tertiary dance education,” says Suzy.

“The cast has come to us from a range of different backgrounds…a lot of them are return dancers who have done our previous projects and have gained so much out of it that they’re ready for the next one. It’s hard work, and they have to really want to do it.”

Preparing to take to the stage on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 July at Erindale Theatre, there are surprises in UNHINGED that even the cast doesn’t know about—because for Bonnie and Suzy, the aim is to be left in a state of feeling like you know, understand and identify with a character…but then you don’t.

“UNHINGED is very different and quite modern. It’ll be interesting to see the merging of the animations, and the choreography and how we’ve used the special effects,” says Bonnie.

“Expect to be entertained, shocked, and captivated—it’s certainly not the traditional Coppelia ballet,” says Suzy.

Photography: Eliza Swiderski of ES Fotografi.